Example public administration dissertation topic 3:

Increasing citizens’ knowledge in the workings of local government through interactive web portals.

This is an exploratory dissertation that seeks to investigate the benefits that interactive websites bring to citizens’ understanding of local government. Comparing and contrasting the home pages of the councils of Dudley, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, this dissertation first undertakes a content analysis and usability analysis of the sites. Thereafter, using 50 students from Manchester Metropolitan University as a focus group, the students are requested to access and evaluate a number of the services available online. Recording their experiences of using the site using a Likert scale, this quantitative piece of primary research will enable comments to be furthered relating to the usability of the three web sites and the extent to which their interactive elements empowered and encouraged young citizens to use their sites.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Carter, L. and Weerakkody, V. (2008). E-government adoption: A cultural comparison. Information Systems Frontiers, 10(4), pp. 473-482.
• Paris, M. (2006). Website accessibility: a survey of local e-government websites and legislation in Northern Ireland. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(4), pp. 292-299.
• Wright, S. and Street, J. (2007). Democracy, deliberation and design: the case of online discussion forums. New Media & Society, 9(5), pp. 849-869.